Sesame Street's New Mission: Tackling the Youth Mental Health Crisis

NEW YORK, NY – May 04, 2026 – For over five decades, the residents of Sesame Street have taught children about letters, numbers, and kindness. Now, in the face of a growing national crisis in children's mental health, they are embarking on one of their most crucial missions yet: building a foundation for emotional well-being from the earliest years.

Sesame Workshop, the global nonprofit behind the iconic show, today announced a significant expansion of its emotional well-being initiative. The new suite of resources, featuring beloved characters like Elmo, Abby Cadabby, and Grover, includes new videos, digital content, and books designed to help young children and their caregivers navigate complex feelings and build resilience. This move directly confronts what leading pediatric organizations and the U.S. Surgeon General have identified as an urgent public health issue, leveraging the unique power of the Muppets to make difficult conversations accessible.

A New Emotional Toolkit for Families

The expanded resources, available for free in both English and Spanish on sesame.org/mentalhealth, are designed to meet families where they are. The content provides simple, actionable strategies for parents and providers to support children's emotional growth in everyday moments.

"When children are given the tools to navigate challenges, they gain the confidence to learn, grow, and thrive," said Rocio Galarza, Vice President, U.S. Educational Programs at Sesame Workshop. "We know that developing a healthy mind, body, and heart starts early and that caring, trusted adults make a world of difference. Through these resources, we're giving families simple, research-based ways to help children understand their feelings, build resilience, and know they can ask for help."

Among the new content is a song titled "We Can Do Hard Things," which, along with new videos and articles, highlights strategies like developing a growth mindset, collaborative problem-solving, and active listening. These tools aim to normalize conversations about feelings and empower caregivers, who, as Galarza noted, "need support, too, especially when it comes to talking about children's emotional well-being."

Responding to a National Emergency

This initiative is not happening in a vacuum. It is a direct response to alarming trends in youth mental health, which have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the CDC, as many as one in five children in the U.S. experiences a mental disorder annually, with anxiety and depression rates on the rise. In a 2021 advisory, the U.S. Surgeon General called for a "whole-of-society effort" to address the crisis, emphasizing the critical need for early intervention and resilience-building.

Sesame Workshop's focus on early childhood is a strategic and evidence-based approach. Experts in child development stress that social-emotional learning (SEL) in the early years is a strong predictor of future success and well-being. By teaching children to identify, understand, and manage their emotions, the program helps build a foundation for mental health before major challenges arise.

"At a time when leading pediatric organizations have identified children's mental health as a national concern, Sesame Workshop's emotional well-being initiative focuses on reaching children early, with the support of like-minded organizations," said Lesley Bourns, Senior Vice President of Impact Programs at Sesame Workshop. "Our emotional well-being videos and books emphasize nurturing relationships and compassion for oneself and others, helping children build a strong foundation for lifelong emotional health."

The Power of a Multi-Sector Alliance

A key driver of the initiative's expanded scope and global reach is a set of powerful philanthropic partnerships. This collaborative model exemplifies the "whole-of-society" approach experts have called for.

Support from the MetLife Foundation is enabling Sesame Workshop to empower children and caregivers across the globe, with a focus on strengthening social connections. The collaboration will see resources distributed in Brazil, India, Mexico, the Middle East, and the United States. Themes of cooperation and perspective-taking, funded by the foundation, are also being woven into Tales from 123 segments in Sesame Street's 56th season.

Simultaneously, new resources supported by the Morgan Stanley Alliance for Children's Mental Health are designed to help families foster resilience. The Alliance, which has committed $50 million to the cause since 2020, partnered with Sesame Workshop to bring its focus to early childhood. This funding directly supports content like the "We Can Do Hard Things" song, addressing the critical need for proactive mental health tools.

From Screen to Shelf: A Holistic Learning Ecosystem

Recognizing that learning happens everywhere, Sesame Workshop is extending its emotional well-being curriculum from digital platforms to the pages of new books through partnerships with major publishers.

Random House Children's Books is launching Elmo's Day with Rocco, a Little Golden Book where the furry red monster must find a healthy way to manage his big feelings about Zoe's pet rock. This fall, Chronicle Books will release Elmo Checks In: How Is Everybody Doing?, a book inspired by Elmo's viral social media post that offered comfort and sparked a global conversation about mental health.

Further expanding the library, Lerner Publishing Group will introduce a six-book series this fall called Building Relationships with Sesame Street®, and Mayo Clinic Press Kids is debuting its "Everyday Feelings with Sesame Street" series. The first title, Get the Wiggles Out: Playful Ways to Embrace Every Feeling, helps children connect physical movement with emotional regulation—a playful, research-backed strategy to handle everything from nervous wiggles to excited jumps.

By creating this integrated ecosystem of videos, digital tools, and physical books, Sesame Workshop is ensuring that these vital lessons in emotional intelligence are reinforced across multiple formats, providing a comprehensive and accessible support system for children and the adults who care for them. Through this thoughtful, multi-faceted approach, the beloved organization is once again proving that it teaches much more than just the alphabet.